Shimla: Himachal Pradesh may be a special category state dependent largely on central funds and grants but its MLAs are not so poor.

The 68-member Assembly has 20 "crorepati" members, as per the data released by the National Election Watch, an Association for Demoratic Reforms in Shimla on Friday.

The data is based on the assembly election 2007 and four by-elections held in during the late term.

Congress MLA from Nalagarh, Lakwinder Rana, is the richest with total assets of over Rs 36 crore while BJP MLA and Forest Minister in second place with total assets of Rs 4.6 crore.

Sujan Singh Pathania, Congress MLA who had fought assembly election from Jwali seat in a byelection in 2009, is also a crorepati with immovable assets worth Rs.4.55 crore.

Former minister and Congress MLA from Nagrota G.S.Bali is in the fourth position with total declared assets worth Rs.3.81 crore.

Congress legislator from Mandi Anil Sharma, son of former Union Telecom Minister, is also among top five richest MLAs of Himachal with assets worth Rs.3.11 crore and eleven out 41 BJP and seven out of 23 Congress MLAs possessed assets in crores.

Further, two out of three independent MLAs also figure in the list of crorepatis. National Election Watch also said 27 Himachal MLAs out of total 68 members of the assembly have criminal cases against them.

The only woman minister in the BJP government and sitting MLA from Shahpur Sarveen Chowdhary has also two criminal cases registered against her while the Industry Minister and sitting MLA from Dharamshala Kishan Kapoor is also among the top five MLAs with two criminal cases registered against him.